Cabaret Will Return to Broadway in Spring 2014

Willkommen Back! Late last spring, word broke that Roundabout Theatre Company was exploring the option of having Cabaret return to Broadway in the near future. Roundabout announced their upcoming season and no major musical was scheduled only adding to the suspicion that Roundabout was working on a way to have the Kit Kat Club return to New York sometime in the near future. After rumors have been swirling for months, it seems as though the lights of the Kit Kat Club have flickered back on with an official statement coming from Roundabout Theatre Company yesterday. Today, Luner on Theatre brings you the exciting news that Cabaret will return to Broadway in spring 2014 at Studio 54!

Cabaret is a musical that features a book by Joe Masteroff with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb. The musical is set in Berlin as the Nazi’s rise to power and specifically focuses on the Kit Kat Club. The main story focuses on two lovers who meet there, Sally Bowles and America Cliff Bradshaw. However, as the show evolves, the Emcee is ever-present and a consistent reminder of the looming German destiny under the Nazi regime.

Roundabout Theatre Company announced yesterday that they planned to revive Cabaret on Broadway come spring 2014. This news was not a surprise to many but the official confirmation was nice after rumors have been swirling for months about a potential production and casting rumors. Cabaret will return to Studio 54 where it played back when Roundabout produced Cabaret in 1998. Studio 54 will transform itself into the gritty Kit Kat Klub with cabaret-type seating. There will also be traditional theatre seating to recreate the environment of the notorious pre-war Berlin Nightclub. The production is set to begin previews March 21, 2014 and will officially open April 24th, 2014. The show will run for a limited engagement of 24 weeks only.

Roundabout Theatre Company’s artistic director Todd Haimes expressed just how excited he is to see an American classic return to the stage through Roundabout in 2014 on Broadway.

“Cabaret is one of the greatest musicals in American musical theatre history. A classic like Cabaret should be seen at least every decade in the same way we see classic plays like A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie. Our production opened 15 years ago in a seminal production directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall and showcased a Tony Award-winning performance by Alan Cumming. Sam, Rob and Alan bring back 15 years of experience and perspective to this material. I am excited to experience the production with an all new cast including Michelle Williams who I know will make an exceptional Sally Bowles.”

Returning with this production as well is the notorious Alan Cummingwho will revive his role as the Emcee as he did in the 1998 production, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Oscar nominee Michelle Williams will make her Broadway debut in the production in the infamous role of Sally Bowles. At this point in time, that is all the casting that has been announced. Full casting details will be announced later.

In a statement to the press, Alan Cumming talked about how excited he was to bring Cabaret back to Broadway and why the show is still so important today.

“I first played the Emcee in London 20 years ago, and then again five years later on Broadway. I was in a totally different place in my life on both those occasions, and I am certainly a different man today. But one thing hasn’t changed: There are still people in this world who want to oppress and destroy us for being different, and Cabaret is both a celebration of diversity and a reminder of the dangers of complacency. It couldn’t be more relevant and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it.”

Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall who teamed up to create the Tony Award winning production in 1998 will return to recreate their work for the 2014 production. Sam Mendes will serve as director and Rob Marshall is co-director and choreographer. The rest of the original 1998 production team will also return to recreate their work. Robert Brill will provide a set and club designer, William Ivey Long will provide a costume designer, Peggy Eisenhauer and Mike Baldassari will provide a lighting designer and Brian Ronan will provide a sound design. Patrick Vaccariello will serve as the musical director.

Sam Mendes expressed his excitement for the return of Cabaret as well as the chance to work with two incredible actors in the new production.

“I’m delighted to be stepping back into the Kit Kat Klub one more time, and to be having the opportunity to re-explore and re-discover this extraordinary musical alongside two equally extraordinary performers.”

Rob Marshall echoed Mendes excitement as well about the new production.

“I am thrilled that Todd Haimes and the Roundabout have decided to revive this production of the Kander/Ebb/Masteroff masterwork, Cabaret. Working on this unique and profound musical was a truly great experience and I am looking forward to returning to it with such a spectacular cast. Michelle Williams is an actress of rare gifts and she will make an astonishing Sally Bowles. And I am especially excited that Alan Cumming is reprising his extraordinary performance as the Emcee for a whole new audience to experience.”

I truly could not be more excited about the return of Cabaret to Broadway. I entirely echo Roundabout Theatre Company and their statement about just how important an American classic like Cabaret is. There are many productions that the world needs to know and see and should be revived every so often so we do not forget their stories. Cabaret could not return to Broadway at a more pivotal time. Alan Cumming said our thoughts entirely. The world is a much different place from when Cabaret debuted on Broadway in 1966, but the hatred, anger and oppression the world has seen still exists today. If anything, the world has grown into a more oppressive place since that time. Let us hope that Cabarets return to Broadway will remind us of just how scary our world we can be if we let it be run by those who dominate with hatred instead of accepting and love the world we have created.

Tickets for Cabaret are now on sale to those who are Roundabout Theatre Company subscribers! Tickets will be going on sale within the next few weeks to the general public! Luner on Theatre will be sure to keep you updated on Cabaret all the way until opening night on Broadway and past that! For more information, visit Roundabout Theatre Company’s Official Website. Visit Luner on Theatre on Facebook and Follow Us on Twitter as well! We are constantly updating these pages with information! And of course, check out the rest of Luner on Theatre for all your theatre news you don’t only need but want to know and so much more!

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2 comments

I Have the cast for the revival are Alan Cumming as the Emcee, Michelle Williams as Sally Bowles, Danny Burstein as Herr Schultz, Linda Emond as Fraulein Schneider, Max Crumm as Ernst Ludwig, Erin Mackey as Fraulein Kost/Fritzie and Patrick Wilson as Cliff Bradshaw.

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Luner on Theatre was a blog created for the sole purpose of being a forum for theatre discussion on the Internet and social networking sites. Luner on Theatre is not only a theatre news-reporting site source, but is also a site that works to publish topics that will spark discussion among those working in the theatre industry and the fans that support it.